Note: This is a seattlepi.com reader blog. It is not written or edited by the P-I. The authors are solely responsible for content. E-mail us at newmedia@seattlepi.com if you consider a post inappropriate.

Quick take: Mac & Devin Go To High School

Calvin Broadus, better known by the nom de rap Snoop Doog, is about to turn 41 years old. Thanks to his (no pun-intended) shaggy-dog charisma, it’s not patently ridiculous that he is one of the titular characters in MAC & DEVIN GO TO HIGH SCHOOL (R, 2 stars), a shambling weed comedy that isn’t as bad as you might think.

Now, before you get any ideas, this isn’t a good movie. But back in the late 1990s, every gangsta rapper thought he was a distant cousin of either DeNiro or Scorsese, and starred/directed in a series of low-budget films so awful I still have scars from watching them. Compared to stuff like “MP Da Last Don” and “Hot Boyz,” “Mac & Devin” is a breath of weed-choked air.

Snoop stars as Mac, a 15-year student at N. Hale High School (get it!), whose specialty is supplying the school with cannabis. When he is paired with valedictorian candidate Devin (Wiz Khalifa in his film debut) on a science project, the slacker helps the nerd lighten up (with the help of the wacky tobaccy) while learning just enough to finally graduate.

I can’t say there are a lot of “jokes,” per se, simply scenes of Mac and Devin getting high and doing stuff – getting tattoos, visiting the massage parlor, partaking in a weed Olympics, etc. Needless to say, there isn’t much of a plot here, and the movie is barely an hour long.

Snoop and Wiz are both charismatic performers and they do seem to have a nice chemistry with each other. Snoop can play the weed-head role in his sleep; I’d like to see him try something a little different. Some familiar faces – Mike Epps, Andy Milonakis – pop up, but they aren’t asked to do much but play off our stoner heroes.

For a low-budget, straight-to-video affair, the Blu-ray actually looks halfway decent. As you might expect, the strength – and perhaps driving force – of the film is the soundtrack, featuring the hit “Young, Wild & Free” and scores of other catchy tunes that pop up over the course of the flick. If you own Cheech & Chong albums and love “Half Baked,” you might get some laughs out of this – if not, maybe you should just get the soundtrack off iTunes.

Note: This is a seattlepi.com reader blog. It is not written or edited by the P-I. The authors are solely responsible for content. E-mail us at newmedia@seattlepi.com if you consider a post inappropriate.